Conservative or Liberal, Deist or Pagan, Jersey transplant or Lehigh Valley native, we're all in this mess together. Let's talk. Let us do no harm. Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne

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Tuesday, July 07, 2015

NIZ-Gate

(The sight of me on NBC-10 must have driven Pawlowski nutz.)

Last Tuesday night, a Bethlehem lawyer hosted a fundraiser for Allentown Mayor Edwin Pawlowski's U.S. Senate campaign. His ever present campaign manager, Mike Fleck, could be heard complaining about the smallish contributions made by some donors. But at that time, he was already in the grip of the feds. He may have even been wearing a wire. On Thursday, Pawlowski's world came crashing down. Fleck let his entire staff go, hoping to avoid exchanging H Street Strategies for Cellblock H. His cell phone was disconnected. And King Edwin was visited by agents at City Hall while others were outside his house. A week ago, Pawlowski had aspirations to be a U.S. Senator. Now, with that campaign suspended, the question most people are asking is who will succeed him Will Magisterial District Judge Michael D'Amore be coaxed out of retirement? Will Sam Bennett replace Pawlowski? Despite his "Happy Monday. It's gonna be an awesome week!"announcement on Facebook, Pawlowski is fighting for his political life. His own hubris and lack of transparency appear to have done him in.

The sudden appearance at the FBI at City Hall and outside his home appears to have caught Pawlowski by surprise. But for weeks, there have been rumblings. I decided not to write about it because I had no idea whether it was state or federal. It might be both.

If Pawlowski is forced to resign, which increasingly seems likely, I fon't consider him the main culprit in this matter. That distinction belongs to the NIZ.

Allentown's inappropriately named Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ), which I think should be re-named the Millionaire Improvement Zone, is about 127 noncontiguous acres in Allentown, and Allentown only, in which developers J.B. Reilly and Joe Topper can use state tax dollars to pay off construction loans for development. It's a TIF on steroids. Despite Reilly's hollow denials, it is also being used to poach businesses from other parts of the Lehigh Valley.

According to The Morning Call's Matt Assad, Reilly's City Center has raked in at least $54 million since 2012. Though it's our money that's being handed out, ANIZDA Board Chair Sy Traub refuses to allow the public to see how the money is really being spent. So there is virtually no public accountability for the large sum of corporate welfare that Reilly has spent.

They never even made him take a urine test.

With that kind of unaccountable money floating around, a Mayor who wants to be Governor and then U.S. Senator, is it any wonder that the feds are looking at all the no-bid contracts awarded? It's inevitable that, with that kind of money, someone is going to skirt the law.

Somewhere along the way, the ideal of open and honest government has disappeared in favor of exclusive parties for the "Miracle that is Allentown."

Most of the contractors doing no-bid work inside the NIZ just happen to be Pawlowski campaign contributors. Neither he nor Mike Fleck has ever been shy about asking for money. Both have been known to strong-arm contributors.

Somewhere along the line, it appears likely that someone crossed the line. If that is so, it is very possible that a few heads will be rolling. It's too soon to say whether it is Fleck, Pawlowski, contractors or some combination.

But with Fleck gone and Pawlowski on his way out, there still are two problems.

First, Reilly needs to show us the money!

There needs to be much more accountability in how these public dollars are being spent than the paternalistic ANIZDA board and J.B.Reilly have been willing to provide. Without public scrutiny, this will just happen again with different players. There's simply too much money.

No additional tax revenue should be distributed unless the unelected ANIZDA Board insists that the public receives a very transparent accounting of just where the dollars are being spent, and why.

Second, Allentown could use a little more democracy.

For too long, with the notable exception of Jeanette Eichenwald, Allentown's City Council has been nothing more than Pawlowski's rubber stamp. It is his money that elected most of them, and they do his bidding. Unfortunately, if Pawlowski resigns, they pick his successor.

Democracy in Allentown has been replaced by an urban growth regime, in which politicians like Pawlowski and businessmen like Reilly make all the real decisions It's become a one-party town in which there is very little incentive for Allentown's working poor to go to the polls. They are more concerned about feeding their families.

Dedicated people like Michael Donovan, Kim Velez, Rich Fegley and Lou Hershman have been vilified and shoved aside in favor of a person like Cynthia Mota, who has been bought and paid for by pawlowski. That dynamic has to change.

Congratulations Bernie! I doubt NBC thought of asking the poison posse of haters that includes the Henry Shit, the Bowel Movement, and Mezzaloony for the time of day, let alone an interview. They are jealous, as the comments from 12:47 to 1:14 reflect. Note they didn't comment on the content of your blog at all - just personal attacks.

You can laugh your way all the way to the car appraiser. Obviously NBC knows who has their pulse on happenings in the Lehigh Valley.

The vitality of democracy depends upon a popular understanding of complex questions like the NIZ. People who attempt to interfere with this attempt to inform, however imperfectly, are themselves anti-Democratic. Tell me I'm wrong and why. But the personal attacks can be seen for what they are.

Vitality of Democracy. Give us a break. Aside from Molovinsky, name one political candidate running in Allentown in recent years who received your endorsement who was not from one faction of the Democrat Party or another?

Rich Fegley? You mean that guy who can be quoted as saying "the wealthy keep all of us 'poor' and makes us work long hours for minimal wages" (Molovinsky, Feb 9, 2014)?

You have built a mountain of bullshit on a foundation of rumors. Harp on oh holy one. You are tense. You need to call another unrelated person your grandchild. Maybe you will feel better going to some youth sporting events.

What happens when all of this blows over and no one is indicted and Pawlowski is still the Mayor. Maybe you and MM can go take a steam together and commiserate.

Big Ed in a tough spot here. Joe Sestak must be doing back flips right about now over this turn of events. Bernie deserves credit for unmasking this whole stinkin' mess in Atown. It was wrong..right from the get go. The walls of Jericho..

I nominate CeCe Gerlach for Allentown Mayor. She's honest, forthright, ran her own council campaign, speaks two languages, and had the courage to take on Pawlowski on TV! She is a fresh face for Allentown's muck and mire and will bring care back into city hall.

Historically I recall that City Council had difficulty getting access to city finances. We are a long long way from transparency here in the City without limits. It would seem that while there may be many many things without limits, transparency and accountability are not among them. In regard to the comment by anonymous 7:06 - as remote a possibility as it is, CeCe would serve Allentown well in that capacity, there are few if any of the likely suspects who would.

"Where is Browne in all this NIZ stuff? Do you think he'll be called in to explain his actions?"

Unlikely Patrick gets touched. He's the architect of the NIZ, but he's also too slick to get his hands dirty. Although his wife has set up a very lucrative consulting business with NIZ clients. This investigation sounds alot like the Rob McCord situation.

Bernie Says: Dedicated people like Michael Donovan, Kim Velez, Rich Fegley and Lou Hershman have been vilified and shoved aside in favor of a person like Cynthia Mota, who has been bought and paid for by pawlowski. That dynamic has to change.

I say: Can't deny that ... But I was on the direct firing line when Cynthia Mota was awarded the City Council seat over me an individual who had attended City Council for years and knew the issues and had served his community well for years ...With the death of Ernest Atiyeh and the resignation of Rich Wilburn as President of the President's Council of the Allentown Crime Watch I am now the President of this multi-group city wide coalition but it is only coincidence that my ascendency to the Presidency of this group is concurrent with the announcement of Pawlowski's troubles. This is not the first time I have been President of a City Wide Coalition --- Back in 1981 my ascendency to the Presidency of the Allentown Community of Neighborhood Organizatons was greeted with the resignation of the CDBG paid Executive Director of CNO opening up a contentious point in the organization and also the complete cutoff of CNO's CDBG support from the City of Allentown ...It was my responsibility to negotiate with Mayor Frank Fischl's Business Manager Bill Hansell and City Council President Linda Rosenfeldt for the return of some of the money in the then current fiscal year so we could continue to meet some of our obligations... In the end some of the money was returned but I agreed that CNO should attempt to raise more of its revenue on its own rather then completely depend on City CDBG funding... As it happened, momentarily this satisfied practically all of the groups that were part of the coalition until Joe Daddona launched his bid to regain the Mayoral seat he lost in the previous election to Frank Fischl and stirred up agitation within CNO to renounce the agreement and push for full funding under a new hoped for Daddona reign. On this very day in July July 7) I resigned my presidency and ended up establishing the Lehigh Valley Council of Regional Livability and via the Lehigh Valley Common Sense Herald newsletter Harry Forker, Ken Haas, Jeanne Scherir, Gordon Sharp and myself told the story what was happening in Allentown in regard to water and sewer issues as well as other important issues. During that period CNO served as the useful puppet for Daddona's interest... But when Daddona found that he didn't need the CNO to carry out the citizen participation requirement for CDBG federal funding he moved to at first reduce and then totally end CNO's funding... I believe this was in 1987 When this happened some of the people who had sided with Daddona in the past and against me in CNO asked me to help them transition from a heavily funded organization with an Executive Director to a lightly funded organization without an Executive Director ... But in the end when they realized that they could not afford an office as well and did not want to operate in that manner they moved to dissolve the organization and divide remaining funds... I complied with their wishes and liquidated all remaining assets, formally dissolved the organization and divided up the funds to charities of their choice but the remaining six neighborhoods... Ironically, the committee I established within the old CNO during my 1st short term via a Bylaw change has morphed into what is known now a days as the President's Council of the Allentown Crime Watch ... I am now the President of that group ..

City Council is a bunch of lame ass toads with one notable exception.They are a disgrace.. More than one will be getting called to the grand jury and the smartest of the bunch have already put criminal attorneys on retainers even as they deny it to their colleagues.The back stabbing and double dealing has started and it's every manTotal bullshit. for himself.One smart council member in the inner circle is already working with the FBI.This is going to be interesting.

On Friday your headline was "Smoke but no Fire". Since then it sounds to me like you have concluded that there is fire, and that Pawlowski himself is finished, but it's unclear to me on what new evidence, if any, your conclusion is based. Can you explain?

I have long wondered if we expect the impossible of our elected officials. They are required to raise staggering amounts of money to fund campaigns. They are permitted to raise said money from individuals who profit from government business. And yet they are expected to avoid even the appearance of corruption. As a society it seems that we are setting all the wrong incentives, and then we are shocked, SHOCKED at the emergence of corruption, or the appearance thereof.

In no way do I mean to excuse unlawful behavior. If Pawlowski or others are guilty, string 'em up. But let's also talk about how to change the rules of the game so that our political system is more welcoming to people who are above reproach.

I totally agree with 8:39 - the system breeds corruption. But the NIZ took things to a whole new level.

Now let's talk about Bernie's Sam Bennett comment. All you need to know about her is that she gave herself 1/3 of a $300K charity budget PER YEAR as her salary. That was way way way above any other charitable organization's salary point. The job should have been done entirely by a volunteer, but Sam felt she needed $100K per year to do this. When the scandal went public, she left town. And now she's nosing around back in town, hoping people forgot. Well, I didn't forget, and I will be happy to remind everyone that Sam Bennett represents greed and corruption at its worst.

Google "Properties of Merit" and "Sam Bennett" and Allentown - do it now. Learn about her.

When Pawlowski finally sinks, Allentown is going to have a power vacuum on its hands, and a snake like Bennett is in the perfect position to slither into the executive office. All I can do is hope the voters of Allentown are learning about the perils of ignorance.

I went through all the nonsense he's been involved in over the years. That provides the smoke. Then I learned that Fleck has closed up shop and has almost certainly been flipped. There is the fire. Not complicated. He is innocent until proven guilty, but the scales are beginning to tip.

"I nominate CeCe Gerlach for Allentown Mayor. She's honest, forthright, ran her own council campaign, speaks two languages, and had the courage to take on Pawlowski on TV! She is a fresh face for Allentown's muck and mire and will bring care back into city hall."

She has stood up to the NIZ nonsense and would be her own person. I heard one complaint that she might be too partisan, but overall, I believe she is an attractive choice. She would be a good Council candidate. I'd have to know more before thinking of her as a Mayor.

Browned engaged in this behavior under the sleaze of "it's not illegal." Back in 2012 His wife signed consulting contracts which pay her $300k/year, $200k from Reilly and $100k from Topper. Not sure if she got her hooks into anyone else too. But he's just as dirty as the rest of them.

Council, the Mayor, ANIZDA Board members, ANIZDA itself all need to learn about transparency, which is totally nonexistent in Allentown. Sy Traub needs to be replaced, along with every ANIXDA member who does not insist that Reilly and all other NIZ developers disclose how ever public dollar received is being spent.

Banker, as the person who broke the story about what Heather Browne was doing, I am well aware of the conflict of interest that existed, as well as Browne's laughable explanations. I could never establish that she was directly involved in lobbying efforts on behalf of Reilly and Topper, which you may recall she specifically denied.

Speaking of Sam Bennett, after she was run out of town she went to Washington and, in a triumph of self-promotion, hustled herself into a gig with a group designed to help elect women. After a while, the board of that group realized she was only there to promote herself and suck money for her chosen lifestyle out of their organization. They forced her to leave so she came back to Allentown to run her own home as a "historic" bed and breakfast.Having her step into a political vacuum of any sort in Allentown would be sowing the seeds of a scandel worse than anyone could imagine. It would make the Fleck/Pawlowski show seem like a grade school food fight. You all have been warned.

Oh I see Michael Fleck took down all the Texas Hold 'Em poker updates on his Facebook feed. Good call, Fleck. He had a TON of updates from online poker contests feeding onto facebook, publically, as of yesterday. Poof!

3:47, Northampton County and the rest of the Lehigh Valley is not too far away from Allentown in terms of losing democracy. The turnouts are increasingly horrible in municipal races. There are several reasons. In Allentown, the transient population is at or below the poverty level, with many people more worried about putting food on the table than picking leaders who are unresponsive to their problems. Those who do vote are bought and paid for with money supplied by the urban growth regime. The press has failed in its role as a watchdog everywhere. The manpower is not there, and bloggers are not filling the gap.

There is no gloating here..this is a sad, train wreck of a city. I was shocked and disgusted when I moved here. I took some friends from NYC out to dinner and they were surprised at the condition the place is in, while there are shiny buildings on just a few blocks.

"Bronx used to look like this before they cleaned it up". Now we need to "clean up" the political mess that made this train wreck.

"I have long wondered if we expect the impossible of our elected officials. They are required to raise staggering amounts of money to fund campaigns"

Give me a break!!! Pawlowski was raising money hand over fist even when not actively running for office. He's out funding school board candidates to try and get rid of Scott Armstrong from ASD. I'll bet Armstrong spent about $250 or so, yet I was getting glossy color mailers every day for a week for the Thiel & Team for ASD board with Ed's picture on the back.

Regarding your comment about Bennett or D'Amore, I think both would be terrible choices.

Bennett's shortcomings have already been mentioned by other posters, and D'Amore helped push the Pawlowski agenda (legislation and appointments) that helped create this situation. I don't recall his disagreeing with Pawlowski often (if ever), and when there was any disagreement it seemed to be more about who would get the credit instead of whether something was right. Nothing against him personally, but not the right person for the job.

So how do we correct the problem, should Pawlowski actually end up leaving? The problem really goes beyond just one person, and has been institutionalized over the last decade by Pawlowski.

The problems with a rubber-stamp council have also been covered here, and the silence from them now is deafening. Pawlowski's out claiming that it's a problem with the contracting process, as if he's a bystander to everything that's going on. Is Council really going to sit back and let Pawlowski, who created the problem, "fix" it? Are they saying that there is no problem; that they just don't understand the contracting process; or that they're going to wait for someone else to fix it? I can't decide which situation is worse.

Beyond that, it's not enough to change the players so another person doles out the favors in a less offensive way, The system itself needs to change. City ordinances will need to be repealed, new ordinances will have to be put in place. Entire Boards (elected and non-elected) will have to be turned over, and the new people will have to look beyond their own self-interest or political aspirations.

And the only way all that happens is if the people of Allentown awaken from their slumber, decide to open their eyes and apply the necessary pressure to Allentown City Hall.

I guess that's the long way of saying I'm not as optimistic as you are that things will really change for the better, even if Pawlowski leaves.

Thanks for the explanation, Bernie. I agree that yesterday's news tells us there is some fire, it's just not yet clear to me who will burn. It could be Pawlowski himself, or some combination of people in his orbit. If Fleck has "flipped" he could be implicating Pawlowski or others.

Whatever the outcome, I hope there will be reforms geared towards making our political system more inviting to people who are there for the right reasons. In NY state, closer to where I live, we have seen a steady stream of stories regarding political corruption in state government - in some cases stretching back years. We put the wrong incentives in place and not enough transparency, and the result has been a culture of corruption that even a "reform" governor seems afraid to confront. In the absence of sunshine, the horse-trading typical for government's functioning morphed into something more pernicious. Corrupt officials may have started out with good intentions, but over time they got comfortable. They became surrounded by lobbyists and business owners growing wealthy from government business, and corruption grew like mold. Perhaps what has happened in Allentown is similar.

The remark to which you are responding concerned the general state of affairs in our politics. I share the discomfort that many have expressed regarding Pawlowski's consolidation of power over the years.

I believe raising money in off-years is relatively common for politicians with aspirations for higher office. Another example of how the rules of the game create incentives for corruption. If Allentown changes the players but not the incentives or the level of transparency I'm willing to bet we'll have similar results.

One has to wonder why Ms. Wild took the solicitors job when everybody in The City of Allentown knew what was going on at City Hall.Saw Her interview and this is above Her level.Hopefully She will comply with the investigation and not do anything stupid

What about the $230 million privatization of Allentown's water system? The local company beat out the largest water companies in the country. That's just not possible!!!

Good question. This issue really needs to be looked at by the investigators as well. There were numerous consultants and huge legal fees involved. Someone should look into LC Exec Tom Muller's role and influence in that whole scheme.

For all the good Alan Jennings has done his passive approval of this fishy anti-democratic boondoggle sullied his reputation in a big way.He has been a big supporter of this apparently criminal nonsense. Do the right thing, Mr. Jennings, step aside.

I'm not so much worried about LCA's bid, I think that was legit. I am concerned about what Allentown did with the money, how much of it actually went to pension obligations vs. what happened with the rest.

I noticed that Sam Bennett changed her Facebook profile picture just yesterday. Hmmm...isn't that interesting? Blood is in the water and she's already prepping her social media for next steps. I also noticed that she has lots of nice things to say about her time with the Women's Campaign Fund, and that she REMOVED (just today) any mention of Properties of Merit. Just a few hours ago, she had lots of nice things to say about herself with regards to POM, and poof now it's gone. Maybe she's getting smart about distancing herself from that disaster, but I will use my anonymous monkey powers to make sure no one ever forgets how she awarded herself a $100K yearly salary based on Rendell's funding of a charity that should have been run solely by volunteers. She scammed Rendell, but she will not scam readers of this blog.

The amount of unsubstantiated rumor here is staggering. BUT..... It is not a secret that Pay to Play was the normal mode in Allentown. The thing is, there were far too many people who were not only happy with it, but COMPLICIT in allowing it to go on. When all is said and done, I doubt Ed Pawlowski spends a single moment in custody. What I am really curious about is the political collateral damage among the Conspirators. You really think Pat Browne wasn't benefiting from the NIZ that he helped facilitate? It was no secret that Pawlowski informed State Senate candidate Walter Felton that He (Pawlowski) would do nothing to assist Felton against Browne on the campaign. I don't think that is the kind of bipartisanship that Democracy needs! That NIZ map was drawn to favor a chosen few, and you have to wonder by just how much the campaign finance reports would high light that.

On another front, I wonder about the Reilly gangs cigarette distribution home inside the NIZ. Are they getting over both ways? I would ask about their figures and accounting practices. Maybe the boys at the Treasury department should take a look.

On another front, I wonder about the Reilly gangs cigarette distribution home inside the NIZ. Are they getting over both ways? I would ask about their figures and accounting practices. Maybe the boys at the Treasury department should take a look.

6:11 PM

A lot of people questioned the cigarette distribution company but who would listen?

make sure no one ever forgets how she awarded herself a $100K yearly salary based on Rendell's funding of a charity that should have been run solely by volunteers. She scammed Rendell, but she will not scam readers of this blog.

Not just that, did she ever finish anything? You gota admit, she gets by. Turned on PCN and there she was speaking before a group of primarily women. It never ceases to be amazing.

Why don't citizens flock to city hall council meetings, effective immediately. Start with the 100 Mother March to demand the Cedar Beach Pool be immediately repaired. Hire an overnight crew but get it repaired. Continue on down the road to the Parkway. What a sad state of affairs. Some suspect the city spent more on the cement blockade to keep people off the bridle path than they ever did repointing the stone walls. It's disgusting.

Anonymous Anonymous said...The entire NIZ board, including St. Alan, have to go, City Council must go. Most of the boards and committees need to get cleared out.The rot, cronyism and incompetence runs deep.

Anonymous Anonymous said...The entire NIZ board, including St. Alan, have to go, City Council must go. Most of the boards and committees need to get cleared out.The rot, cronyism and incompetence runs deep.

Every committee member and the council should all offer their resignations. All of them are in some way responsible for some facet of what has gone wrong with this once grand city.

I don't know about all that but the beautiful Iron lady is the only one with her sack intact in this the Brown Hole matter¿ There is not a one that could even come close to her INTEGRITY, HONOR and Publics best intrest in mind¿

Who to replace Ed? Someone who has a record of standing up for people. Someone who has proven ability to work with everyone and someone who stands out from the crowd. Out of all the names listed thus far I'd have to go with Ms. Ce-Ce Gerlach from the School Board. She took on and still takes on developers and the mayor. I don't always agree with everything she says but at least she puts her plans and beliefs out there. She is transparent. No she is not too partisan. I mean she was the 2nd highest vote receiver on the Republican side. She was the highest on the Democrat side. I think she is registered as a dem but not sure. Now until 2017, if Pawlowski were to leave wouldn't that mean Ray O'CONNELL would become interim?

Ce Ce would do a good job because she has the most important quality this city needs at this particular moment: honesty. She can establish a citizen cabinet of residents from all quarters of the city: They would weekly meet and discuss issues: police, vandalism, recreation, health, safety. All she needs is to surround herself with honest caring people: none of whom would receive a cent or financially benefit from their public service. None of the current "players" would be permitted to join.

Sounds like Monkey Mamma has a hot nut for Sam Bennett. It figures. Lets see if she has the stones to say the same things in a public meeting. She cant because her statements are not true. IRS rules prevent non profit leaders from giving themselves their salaries. So you think anyone let alone Sam can get one over on the IRS. Yeah right.Ill be around too monkey momma to expose your bullshit.

guy, actually, i also have a little issue. twice now in morning call articles sam has purported to have co-founded the west park historic district. although i'm a preservationist, i organized the opposition to the district, because simply put, HARB, the enforcing mechanism, is too arbitrary. sam was not involved, nor lived in the district, then or now. furthermore, the mansion now in controversy with St. Lukes, is not in the district.

Been a few years but as i recall Scott was one of the leaders at the time with Dick Button and Sam working behind the scenes of the community effort. Scott over the years has done good work with WPCA. Some of the current members, not all, support the effort to stop the destruction of the mansion.. Yes the building is not in the district just outside the boundaries but I was their also in the rain with a handful of supporters trying to urge St Luks to reconsider.